Tigers quiet Coliseum with 3-2 win over A's in Game 1 of ALDS

Detroit Tigers Victor Martinez celebrates after scoring a single by Alex Avila in the first inning of Game 1 of the American League baseball division series against the Oakland Athletics in Oakland, Calif., Friday, Oct. 4, 2013. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

The Tigers did both of those in Friday’s Game 1 of the American League Division Series in Oakland, as they turned an early three runs over to Cy Young hopeful Max Scherzer, and he and two relievers made it stand for a 3-2 win.

The Tigers knew from last year that the O.co Coliseum would be raucous.

An early run of offense kept the crowd of 48,401 — the largest since 2004 — fairly quiet, and Max Scherzer kept them that way until late.

“This is one of the rowdiest baseball experiences I’ve ever been a part of. The fans here go absolutely nuts from the first pitch to the last, and that’s just something you’ve got to deal with,” Scherzer said Thursday. “The crowd noise is going to be loud. If I’m not mistaken, they’re adding more people in (by removing the tarps in the upper deck), so it’s just going to be an unbelievable baseball experience, something I’ll never forget.”

That’s what it was for the final three games of last year’s series, which concluded with three straight contests in Oakland.

“The atmosphere’s great. It’s a lot of fun pitching out there. Those fans are crazy. They made noise," Verlander said. "I remember last year in the ninth inning, I think they were down 6-0 and I’m on the mound and I threw a ball. Ball one. They start going nuts. They’re a difference-maker, they really are. I think it helps being prepared, having experienced it last year. I think they kind of caught us off-guard as a team when we went in there. You’re so used to going into Oakland and they haven’t packed it out all year. We heard a little bit about when Texas went the last series of the year, how crazy it was. I’d never experienced anything like that and I don’t think these guys had either. It caught us off-guard a little bit but I think we’re better prepared for it now.”

That offense was enough early on, but barely enough, the later the game got.

FIRST INNING: Despite that regular season-ending offensive malaise, the Tigers jumped on A’s starter Bartolo Colon immediately in Game 1, scoring three runs in the first.

Austin Jackson doubled down the right-field line, then Colon hit his first batter of the season, plunking Torii Hunter. Miguel Cabrera — who had just seven RBI in September — got his first of the postseason with a single back up the middle, then Hunter scored on a double-play ball off the bat of Prince Fielder.

Alex Avila followed a Victor Martinez double with an RBI single of his own, that eluded both first baseman Daric Barton and second baseman Eric Sogard.

SIXTH INNING: After his fastball got hammered in the first, Colon went to more breaking stuff, and allowed just three baserunners through the next four innings, before allowing three straight one-out singles — from Martinez, Avila and Omar Infante — in the sixth.

They’d end up with nothing in the inning, though, as A’s right fielder Josh Reddick fielded Infante’s single, and gunned Martinez out at the plate, keeping the game 3-0.

SEVENTH INNING: Scherzer had given up just one hit through six innings, and allowed only three baserunners, but the A’s got back in it with two swings of the bat in the seventh.

Brandon Moss led off with an infield single that chopped just over Scherzer’s glove. Shortstop Jose Iglesias tried to reprise his stellar diving flip from earlier this season, but nearly overthrew Prince Fielder at first.

Yoenis Cespedes made it a one-run game with one swing of the bat, drilling a 2-2 fastball into the seats in left-center field, making it a 3-2 game.

Scherzer would get out of the inning with a fly out, a pop out and a strikeout — giving him a postseason career high 11 — keeping the Tigers in the lead. It was the longest postseason outing of his career, in terms of innings (seven) and pitches (118).

NINTH INNING: After Drew Smyly got the first two outs of the eighth in relief of Scherzer, closer Joaquin Benoit was called upon for a four-out save.

He got Josh Donaldson to pop out to end the eighth, then struck out Moss, Cespedes and Reddick in the ninth to finish it.

Matthew B. Mowery covers the Tigers for Digital First Media. Read his “Out of Left Field” blog at opoutofleftfield.blogspot.com.

About the Author

Detroit Tigers beat writer for The Oakland Press in Pontiac, Michigan. Mowery has spent 18 years covering sports, from preps to pros. He’s been honored with more than 25 awards for writing. Reach the author at matt.mowery@oakpress.com
or follow Matthew B. on Twitter: @MatthewBMowery.